Sheathing or casing for hulls of water-craft.



` .1. LOWTHER. SHEATHING 0R CASING FOR HULLS 0F WATER CRAFT.

APPLICATION FILED APR.22| \9l8.

Patented Oct. 8, 1918 THOMAS J. LOWTI-IER, 0F GULFPORT, MISSISSIPPI.

SHEATHING OR CASING FOR I-IULLS 0F WATER-CRAFT.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 8, 1918.

Application iiled April 22, 1918. Serial No. 230,045.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. LowTHEn, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Gulfport, in the county of Harrison and State of Mississippi, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheathings or Casings for Hulls of Water- Craft, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to the preservation of wood and has as its primary object the provision of means for protecting the bottoms of wooden ships against injurious insects or worms and to render the said wooden ships and barges absolutely leakproof.

Furthermore, an object of this invention is to eliminate danger of wooden ships being water logged to obviate recalking of the same.

It has been found in practice that wooden hulls may have their durability increased to a very marked degree by the employment of this invention and Wooden hulls and barges that have been impaired and made practically useless by the action of worms have been reclaimed and the cost incident thereto has been minimized and has amounted to no more than the cost of calking and coating the same with copper paint.

A still further object of this invention is to produce a ship of the character described which will develop increased speed in proportion to the power applied as compared with ships now in common use, and furtherv more, to produce a ship having a minimum tendency to roll in heavy seas.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification. wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 illustrates a side view of a barge with the sheathing forming the subject matter of the invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 illustrates an underneath enlarged view of a fragment of a hull;

Fig. 3 illustrates a sectional view of one embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 4 illustrates a sectional view of another embodiment.

In these drawings A denotes a barge, the hull of which is provided with strips of wood B, preferably creosoted or otherwise treated to preserve the texture of the wood, said strips having their edges beveled at the inner sides, as shown at C to form undercuts. The spaces between the strips are lled by a iieXible cement which, in its plastic state, enters back of the wooden strips in the recesses formed by the beveled surfaces, thus constituting a strong anchorage for the cement, sufficient in itself, in most instances, to retain it in place, but as a further means forinsuring firm anchorage of the cement, the heads D of tacks are embedded in the cement, and the shanks E of the tacks are driven into the sheathing F of the hull A. To increase the speed of the boat and to prevent its rolling, one embodiment of the invention provides for having the surface of the composition or cement concaved transversely, as shown at G, so that the outer surface of the hull presents a series of plain and recessed undulations which, as stated, lend to the stability of the ship and increase its speed proportional to the power applied.

In that form of the invention shown in Fig. 4, the wooden strips I-I have beveled sides I constituting undercuts to form pockets for the anchorage of the cement J and in this form. the cement covers the wooden strips and the outer surface presents a series of alternate conveXities and concavities, the object of which has been stated, and in this last mentioned construction, tacks may be employed, if desired, as a further means for anchoring the cementitious coating.

I claim- 1. In a sheathing or casing for hulls of water craft, strips of wood having undercut edges attached to a hull of a craft, and flexible cement deposits between the said strips and extending into the spaces below the undercuts of the strips, said cement deposits strips and extending into the spaces back of having concaved surfaces. the undercuts of the strips, the surface of 2. In a sheathing or easing for hulls of the cement deposits having alternate ridges Water craft, strips of Wood having undercut and grooves extending longitudinally of the 10 5 edges attachedito a hull of a craft, flexible hull.

cement deposits between and over the said THOMAS 1J. UQWTHER.

' Copies of this patent maybe obtainedfor ye centseach,.by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

WashingtomDfCl 

